1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of electronic mail (e-mail) communications, and in particular, to a stand-alone Internet mailbox which utilizes cable television signal distribution networks for delivering e-mail messages
2. Description of Related Art
Internet e-mail is transmitted today through the Internet and has become a common form of communication. Using devices like personal computers and web-tv the process to receive the e-mail is getting simpler. Despite these facilities, the process for receiving e-mail remains expensive and complex, particularly for persons having little technical aptitude or interest. A is modem is required to connect to the Internet. A monthly charge is paid for the access. The knowledge of operating special devices is required. The inability of many persons to even receive e-mail is an inconvenience to other people desiring to send e-mail messages, even knowing that an e-mail reply will not be forthcoming. On the other hand, virtually everyone owns a television and many of these people, in ever increasing numbers, are wired or wireless subscribers to cable and satellite services.
In accordance with the inventive arrangements, an electronic mailbox facility is embodied in a simple device that can receive a data stream representing an e-mail communication from a cable television distribution system or satellite system. The device then formats that data stream into an e-mail letter which can, for example, be either printed as a continuous output of the device or displayed in a simple display having a page up/page down capability for enabling the e-mail to be read.
It is not anticipated that the television would be incorporated into the display, as an underlying aspect of the invention is to simplify the reception of e-mail to such an extent that, except for using a cable splitter to connect the device to the coaxial cable in the home, no technical steps need be undertaken, as would be necessary if the operation of the television were impacted in any fashion. It is also an underlying aspect of the invention that the television need not be operating in order to receive or read an e-mail message. Simplicity is the key factor.
A method in accordance with an inventive arrangement for delivering electronic mail (e-mail) messages over a cable television distribution network, comprises the steps of: (a.) accepting an e-mail message addressed to an e-mail subscriber of the cable television distribution network; (b.) associating the e-mail message with data identifying the subscriber; (c.) adding an address header from the data identifying the subscriber to the e-mail message corresponding to premises of the e-mail subscriber; and, (d.) transmitting the e-mail message and address header for transmission over the cable distribution network simultaneously with television signals but in a predefined frequency band not carrying the television signals, whereby the e-mail message and header can be captured by an e-mail message receiver in the premises of the subscriber by decoding the address header.
The method can further comprising the step of, between the steps (b.) and (c.), encrypting the e-mail message with a code from the data identifying the subscriber.
A method in accordance with another inventive arrangement for receiving electronic mail (e-mail) messages over a cable television distribution network, transmitted with an address header over a cable distribution network simultaneously with television signals, comprises the steps of: (a.) receiving all e-mail messages transmitted over of the cable television distribution network at each premises of e-mail subscribers; (b.) decoding the address headers of the e-mail messages; (c.) determining from the address header whether the e-mail message is addressed to the premises of the e-mail subscriber; and, (d.) if the e-mail is addressed to the premises of the e-mail subscriber, displaying the e-mail message.
The method can further comprising the step of first demodulating the e-mail messages from a predefined frequency band of the cable distribution network not carrying television signals.
The method can further comprise the step of displaying the e-mail message by printing the e-mail message and/or displaying the e-mail message by scrolling the e-mail message on an alpha numeric display.
The method can also further comprise the step of, between the steps (c.) and (d.), decrypting the e-mail message.
The method can also further comprise the step of storing the e-mail message prior to displaying the e-mail message.
A method in accordance with yet another inventive arrangement for delivering electronic mail (e-mail) messages over a cable television distribution network, comprising the steps of:(a.) accepting e-mail messages addressed to e-mail subscribers of the cable television distribution network; (b.) respectively associating each the e-mail message with data identifying one of the subscribers; (c.) adding an address header from the data identifying the subscribers to each the e-mail message corresponding to the premises of the respective e-mail subscriber; (d.) transmitting the e-mail messages and address headers for transmission over the cable distribution network simultaneously with television signals but in a predefined frequency band not carrying the television signals; (e.) receiving all e-mail messages transmitted over of the cable television distribution network at each respective premises of the e-mail subscribers; (f.) decoding the address headers of the e-mail messages; (g.) determining from the address headers whether the e-mail message is addressed to the respective premises; and, (h.) if the e-mail is addressed to the respective premises, displaying the e-mail message.
The method can further comprise the steps of: between the steps (b.) and (c.), respectively encrypting the e-mail messages with a code from the data identifying the respective subscriber; and, between the steps (g.) and (h.), decrypting the e-mail message.
The method can also further comprise the step of storing the e-mail messages prior to displaying the messages. displaying the e-mail messages by printing the e-mail messages.
The method can further comprise the step of displaying the e-mail message by printing the e-mail message and/or displaying the e-mail message by scrolling the e-mail message on an alpha numeric display.
A stand-alone mailbox in accordance with yet another inventive arrangement for receiving electronic mail (e-mail) messages transmitted over a cable television distribution network to each premises of a plurality of e-mail subscribers, transmitted with an address header over a cable distribution network simultaneously with television signals, comprises: a demodulator for receiving all e-mail messages transmitted over of the cable television distribution network; a decoder for the address headers and the e-mail messages; a comparator for determining if the address header of any of the e-mail messages matches an address of the premises for which the mailbox is coded; and, a display for the e-mail messages.
The mailbox can further comprising a decrypter for the decoded messages.
The mailbox can further comprise a memory for storing the e-mail messages.
The mailbox can also comprise a printer for displaying the e-mail messages and/or a scrollable alpha numeric display for displaying the e-mail messages.